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Raleigh, N.C. — Newt Gingrich returns to North Carolina Monday in his pursuit of the Republican presidential nomination.

Gingrich, a former Georgia congressman and U.S. House speaker, met with state community leaders at the Shanahan Law Group on Falls of Neuse Road in Raleigh Monday morning. Next, he went to Cafe Luna, 135 E. Hargett St., for a luncheon.

Finally, Gingrich will speak to students at Broughton High School Monday afternoon.

The visit comes a day after Gingrich said his campaign has nearly $4.5 million in debt and that he expects rival Mitt Romney to win the GOP nomination. Gingrich said he is staying in the race to influence the party's platform.

A WRAL News Poll in late March showed Gingrich running a distant third in North Carolina, with 18 percent support among likely Republican voters. Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum was in the lead at 34 percent, followed by former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney at 26 percent.

Gingrich has said he plans to use his Southern roots and his ties to the state to appeal to North Carolina voters. His oldest daughter attended Davidson College and lived in Greensboro.

Gingrich said during a campaign stop in Raleigh last week that North Carolina is "very much in play" for him and other candidates if Santorum wins the April 24 primary in his home state of Pennsylvania. Gingrich said his strategy is for him and other candidates to keep Romney from getting a majority of delegates and force a vote at the Republican National Convention in Tampa in August.

Fifty-five delegates are up for grabs in North Carolina's primary on May 8. They will be awarded proportionally, based on the percentage of votes to each candidate.

Whoever the eventual nominee is, Gingrich said Republicans would rally to defeat President Barack Obama in the fall elections.

"The morning this (primary campaign) is over, whoever the nominee is, and the choice is clearly Obama and the Republican and the issue becomes Obama's record, you'll see the Republican candidate rise very dramatically," he said.

North Carolina could play a key role in that effort, Gingrich said.

"Obama understands that if he can't carry Virginia and North Carolina, he might not get elected," he said.

barbstillkickinApr 10, 2012

This election will have a strong republican runner so Obama might as well pack his bags now. Last time they messed up with that crazy lady running as VP but now we have intelligent people running so Black, White, or Brown this president is outta here.

RdubyaApr 10, 2012

The GOP is finally getting rid of Newt. If they had found a way for hime to marry the party, he would have split long ago.

piene2Apr 9, 2012

I thought that the repubumpkins had settled on that Mitten dude.

QuagmireApr 9, 2012

Not a good role model for kids.

Mr. Middle of the RoadApr 9, 2012

He is a clown and a complete joke to most of the Country, but I do ask the students at Broughton to accord him the respect you would any other outside speaker. Be nice. Don't be fools and yell things like, 'you lie.' Show you are more mature than that.

kdawgApr 9, 2012

Hello, stop wasting money. Romney is the nominee.

corey3rdApr 9, 2012

Newt is just another out-of-state panhandler begging for loose change in Moore Square.

BroughtonStudent12Apr 9, 2012

Just registered here to mention how crazy this guy was at our school. He talked about his "beer and ice cream" diet and how much of a raccoon he was. When he started taking questions he didn't know how to answer questions. Someone asked about the situation in Uganda and he didn't know where Uganda was.

The guy is a bat, and I think everyone there could tell that while we were laughing at him.

SARCASTICLESApr 9, 2012

THAT'S rich, cwood3....you tokin' on them "Denial Doobies" again? ;)

SARCASTICLESApr 9, 2012

Hey Newt! If the band you're in starts playin' different tunes, we'll see you on the dark side of the Moon.....(there is no dark side of the moon.....as a matter of fact, it's all dark...) ;)